Super Bowl 2011 / Cowboys Stadium

Arlington to require permits for off-site stadium parking

Remember those $60 parking lots outside Cowboys Stadium for the George Strait concert?

Apparently, the off-site parking situation has gotten the attention of the Arlington City Council.

The Star-Telegram's Susan Schrock reports that, on Tuesday, the council approved new rules for entrepreneurial parking lot operators who want to sell parking spaces during events at Cowboys Stadium or Rangers Ballpark.

Lot owners now must have liability insurance and lighting, among other requirements, and pay the city $150 to $400 for an annual permit before they can charge fans to park.

The council is expected to reduce some requirements that property owners call unreasonable, such as requiring an on-site attendant, during a second reading of the ordinance later this month.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the ordinance probably would not take effect until after the Jonas Brothers concert later this month.

Arlington police say traffic flowed well

Arlington Police Department News Release

Cowboys Stadium traffic flowed smoothly for the George Strait concert Saturday night. Inbound traffic to the Entertainment District had no major back-ups thanks in large part to people planning ahead and arriving early.

Before George Strait left the stage at 11:24 p.m. plenty of cars were already on the roadways, because of people who left the event early.

But by 12:45 a.m. traffic around Cowboys Stadium was free-flowing and the roads were pretty clear.

Many of you have asked for the arrest numbers attributed to the Cowboys Stadium crowd.

It appears that there were 19 public intoxication arrests, 1 DWI, and 1 assault arrest.

Afterparty in the Jones suite?

Seems so. Only suite still buzzing with activity. Guess my invitation was lost. -Eva-Marie Ayala Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Closing of the roof

The roof just closed as many concertgoers exited the stadium.

Crews are now cleaning up all of the hundreds of beer bottles on the floor of the stadium and putting away the ten thousand folding chairs that are on the floor of the stadium.

-Andrea Ahles

Night ya'll!

Andrea Ahles, left, and I celebrating the end of a fun night. That chica has seen almost every inch of this place go up since it was a hole in the ground. Hope you enjoyed our coverage tonight as we go home to soak our feet. And for those taking the stage in the future, remember this is Arlington in Tarrant County. George, Reba and more said Dallas more than once. Folks around here care about those things. A lot. -Eva-Marie Ayala Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

End of the Show

George Strait is wrapping up his set right now and the roof is fully open with spot lights going crazy throughout the entire stadium.

"Hope to see you at one of the Cowboys games," Strait told fans as he threw his cowboy hat into the audience. "Goodnight everybody."

It's been a long day but a lot of fun.

This is the Star-Telegram crew of Andrea Ahles, Eva-Marie Ayala, Gordon Dickson, Clarence Hill Jr., and Max Faulkner signing off for the night.

-Andrea Ahles

Encore time

It's 11:16 p.m. and George Strait is on his second encore song.

No one in the stadium seems to be making an early exit to try to beat traffic, except for our photographer Max Faulkner, who just left.

At this point, everyone is on their feet, listening to the steel guitar solo.

-Andrea Ahles

And the roof opens....slowly

The roof at the new Cowboys stadium just opened up....Well it's opening. It takes 9 minutes, according to Uni-Systems who built the roof, to open fully.

It is only partially open right now.

And a huge sign of Ft Worth 183 highway sign just flashed on the screen as George Strait sings about "wonderful Texas."

-Andrea Ahles

George Strait rocking the new stadium

One of country's leading men headlining opening night. -Eva-Marie Ayala Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Cheesecake! Drrrrooool.

Mini cheesecakes on the way to the suites. I'm sure no one would notice if the tray suddenly went missing, right? -Eva-Marie Ayala Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed